The majority of the contemporary gaming devices, such as slot machines, use probability data to generate awards and other outcomes. Such gaming devices typically include a low probability associated with the highest award, medium probabilities associated with medium range awards and higher probabilities associated with low range awards. Because the gaming devices rely upon probabilities, there is no certainty that a player will ever obtain any particular award. Just as in flipping a penny, no matter how many times a person flips the penny there is no certainty that heads will ever turn up. There is only a fifty percent probability or chance that heads will turn up. The expected occurrence of heads is fifty percent of the number of flips, but the actual occurrence of heads is uncertain.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, contemporary gaming devices include various value levels 1, weights 3 which determine the probabilities 5 associated with each value level, and the expected number of occurrences 7 of values. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, a player has a six percent probability of obtaining outcome A, a four percent probability of obtaining the rare outcome, a thirty percent probability of obtaining outcome B, a thirty percent probability of obtaining outcome C and a thirty percent probability of obtaining outcome D. Over the play cycle of the gaming device, which in this case would be the sum of the weights or one hundred plays, the expected number of occurrences of outcomes is six outcome A's, four rare outcomes, thirty outcome B's, thirty outcome C's and thirty outcome D's.
These occurrences are only expected, not actual. No matter how many times a player plays the game, since the processor 9 generates outcomes completely based upon a probability calculation, there is no certainty that the game will ever provide the player with a rare outcome, such as a jackpot award, or any other specific value for that matter. It could be that after one hundred plays the gaming device processor generates one hundred outcome B's, resulting in no value being provided to players. Alternatively, the rare outcome may appear more than four occurrences in every hundred plays.
This uncertainty is faced by players and casinos or other gaming establishments. For example, most casinos prefer that a relatively high number of players hit low awards while a relatively low number of players hit high awards. When players hit high awards periodically, casinos attract more business because of the positive publicity large wins generate. By using desired probabilities, the casinos can also expect to make a certain level of profit. The probabilities can, however, unexpectedly cause casinos to suffer a loss or, on the other hand, to reap great profit in the short run and lose business in the long run due to a reputation for only paying out low awards.
Certain laws and regulatory bodies do not permit the use of probability-based gaming devices. These laws and regulatory bodies only permit the use of gaming devices which are guaranteed to provide certain or definite awards, so that, for example, a certain number of wins is guaranteed and the amount paid to players is guaranteed. One type of gaming device which complies with this requirement is the pull-tab type gaming machine. The pull-tab gaming machine provides players with all of the available outcomes over the course of the play cycle. Here, the outcomes are the pull-tabs, and the play cycle is the number of pull-tabs in the gaming machine. These pull-tab machines include mechanical bins which store and dispense paper or plastic pull-tabs. Depending upon which pull-tab a player draws from the machine, the player may receive a jackpot, another prize or no prize at all. By the time players have drawn all of the pull-tabs from the gaming machine, the gaming machine will have definitely paid out the jackpot.
One of the disadvantages with this type of gaming machine is that it relies upon a mechanical bin apparatus which is only useful in providing outcomes in mechanical pull-tab games. The mechanical bin apparatus cannot be used in gaming machines to produce outcomes for slot games, poker games, bonus games and a variety of other games. Moreover, the mechanical bin apparatus cannot produce video-based outcomes in contemporary gaming machines. Another disadvantage to the pull-tab machine is that if players learn that a player has won a jackpot at a certain pull-tab machine, the players tend to not play that pull-tab machine because there is no jackpot incentive until a new set of pull-tabs are available from the machine.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a gaming device which definitely provides players with all of the outcomes available in various types of computerized games over the course of a play cycle and which maintains player interest after a jackpot or large award is won.